Hyderabad: India is committed to increasing its connectivity with Central Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday while addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit virtually, and added that landlocked countries in the neighbourhood can benefit immensely by connecting with India's vast market. In a veiled reference to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Modi said that any connectivity initiative cannot be one-way and that mutual trust and connectivity projects should be consultative, transparent and participatory.
It maybe mentioned here that India has made a significant investment in the Chabahar port in southeastern Iran which is seen as vital to India’s westwards connectivity, providing inroads to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Iran and Afghanistan are the other two countries to have invested in this port.
"This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the SCO. I welcome Iran as a new member country of the SCO. I also welcome the three new dialogue partners - Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar. India is committed to increasing its connectivity with Central Asia. We believe that landlocked Central Asian countries can benefit immensely by connecting with India's vast market. Any connectivity initiative cannot be one-way. To ensure mutual trust, connectivity projects should be consultative, transparent and participatory. There should be respect for the territorial integrity of all countries," Modi said.
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The Prime Minister also said that Central Asia has been a bastion of moderate and progressive cultures and values. "Traditions like Sufism flourished here over the centuries and spread throughout the region and the world. We can still see their image in the cultural heritage of this region," he added.
He also stressed the need to encourage talented youngsters of the region towards science and rational thinking, by bringing in startups and entrepreneurs together to build an innovative spirit and make India a stakeholder in emerging technology.
"The biggest challenges in this area are related to peace, security, trust deficit, and the root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation. Recent developments in Afghanistan have made this challenge clear," Modi added.
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In 2016, India had signed a deal with Iran entailing $8 billion investment in Chabahar port and industries in Chabar Special Economic Zone, including an aluminium smelter and a urea making facility. India has also already built a 240-km road connecting Afghanistan with Iran.
Realising the importance of regional connectivity, the Government of India had made a landmark decision to undertake an overseas port investment in Chabahar. While this project had been under discussion for some time, it was during Modi’s visit to Iran in 2016 that a trilateral agreement to establish the port. India is also a signatory to the Ashgabat Agreement aimed at creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Other stakeholders of the Agreement are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, India, Pakistan, and Oman.
This corridor is intended to ensure the unhindered flow of commerce throughout the region and to create a safe, secure and reliable route to trade initially with Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan, and thereafter with Central Asia as a whole.
